House refuses REAL ID licenses, supports separate ID cards

BATON ROUGE - House lawmakers have refused to allow Louisiana to issue driver's licenses that comply with the federal REAL ID law. But they did agree to let people pay for a special state-issued identification card compliant with the federal act.

The House-approved proposal contrasts with the approach backed by the Senate.

The competing bill passed Wednesday by the House would continue the ban on REAL ID compliance for licenses, but allow people to get a separate ID card that complies with the federal act. Louisiana residents would have to pay a fee to get the second card.